Moving Mountains: Between Sand and Leaf
by brighteyedcherryblossom
Summary: The fate of our beloved Gaara has been sealed by the hands of time and destiny... All flows as should... But what if, in the paradox of events, someone was there for him... What if SHE was there for him? What if she was ALWAYS there?


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… but I'd so totally NOT let Ino be with Shikamaru if I did… he belongs to Temari… full stop!**

**Authors note: Aite! Just like all my other work, this one is song inspired. Three song actually… the fight scene is AFI- Miss Murder and My Chemical Romance- Ghost of you… she actually sings the chorus of Ghost of you and well… everything else is my beloved Usher- Moving Mountains… (anybody see the coincidence? lol) Anywho! I hope y'all enjoy! If it doesn't interest you then just close the screen and walk away…**

**Just so you know:** **O-O-O-O-O-O --means that the scene is switching.**

**How do you build a Mountain?**

She sauntered around him as he struggled to escape her jutsu. Her sadistic chuckle, a reflection of his, but she didn't realise it. Being around him so often; training with him, being taught by him, and eventually falling in love with him, his traits would have eventually crossed over to her... the good and the bad.

"What the fuck are you doing, you crazy bitch?"

Her pacing ceased. _Crazy bitch_, she thought grabbing hold of his jaw tightly.

"Crazy……Bitch?" She repeated with a dazed expression.

"Well, I don't know which word to take as the bigger compliment!"

AGH!

The vines around his legs, chest and arms tightened as her chakra became visibly stronger. The green hue of her skin became darker as the rage built. More vines burst through the soil beneath them.

This was going to be over soon.

Bringing herself so close to the ninja's face that their noses almost touched, she proceeded to speak once more.

"So much fire. He would have loved that. It's a shame I have to kill you now."

"Wait! No! Don't kill me! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" He pleaded with her. His sudden change in attitude repulsed her.

He definitely had to die.

"What I want to know?" Her tone was dazed once more. Almost trance like.

"The location of the new Akatsuki headquarters! It's in the Falsetto Valley in the village of the Sound!"

Her grip on his jaw loosened and she caressed his now swelling face. Her seductress persona returning as she breathed in his scent and licked his lips, as though begging for it, his eyes closed awaiting what made her reputation as the Sand Village Princess infamous; her kiss.

She entwined her fingers in his hair and drew his head backward to face hers. Her tongue trailed the pink plush of her own mouth. Slowly, she pressed her lips against his, expertly maneuvering her mouth with his. Then... she pulled away.

"Thanks for giving me your last breath."

With those words, the newly sprouted vines turned blood red and dived into ever opened hole in the Akatsuki underling's body.

"My flowers like water. Feed them for me won't you?" She requested as she stood up from her stooping position, and walked away from him, as he screamed from the excruciating pain.

The wind blew from the East, lifting her long blond hair off her back.

"...No babe, we're not done yet," she whispered to the howling breeze as it whirled round her, picking up the sand she had left in the wake of her jutsu. Its coarse matter brushed against her face. Her eyes closed as her secret message carried on the new wind heading back to the East.

In that moment, she stretched out her arm,

_Just as he did… _

Spread her fingers widely,

_Just as he did…_

And in one swift motion, clenched her fist closed.

At her signal, the twisting vines around the underling's body squeezed him so tightly, that his now moisture less body disintegrated into a small pile of ash.

The bloodshed was over.

The dark green hue of her skin grew lighter as she meandered through the maze of bodies that were once Akatsuki guards and lesser members. Every heel print she made gave birth to a fresh patch of grass that rapidly spread to cover the entire area. Soon all the carnage she had created, was masked with the beautiful restoration jutsu, courtesy of the first Hokage.

She hummed to herself, unfazed by the smell of blood and fresh grass that lingered in the air around her.

Her melody turned into words as she walked;

"At the end of the word,

Or the last thing I see,

You are,

Never coming home,

Never coming home,

Could I?

Should I?..."

The haunting tune became a mantra to her as she ventured through the wood.

**O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Those guys have a thing for blonds too?" the older woman asked idly spinning a kunai between her fingers.

"Some… I guess." Ino replied approaching her comrade.

"Humph!"

"What does it matter, Temari? They're dead now anyways." Was her cold response. However, the Sand Village Heiress was not ruffled by her friends' flippantness.

"Did you get the location out of any of them?"

"Yea… Falsetto Valley, Village of the Sound." She sighed dreamily, looking towards her desired destination.

"Ready to go then?" Temari more asked herself that Ino, knowing full well what the girl's response would be.

"No… I wanna see him first."

Temari smiled knowingly to herself.

_I'm glad he has you to watch him_, she thought following the princess' lead and entering the awaiting carriage.

With the crack of the drivers whip, the horses were off towards their village.

**O-O-O-O-O-O**

"She's been in there with him for three hours," the brown haired man reported to his sister.

Temari slowly looked up from her novel to acknowledge her younger brother. He had aged well, as did they all. But for some reason, she had seen the most change him. She guessed the new responsibility of protecting his three year old daughter had brought him out of his teenage mindset. Especially since her mother died… unfortunately, by the hand of the Akatsuki.

"Are you still that worried about them?" she asked professionally.

"Not them, just him." He retorted. She could hear a slight coating of venom in his response.

"You know she wasn't going to leave him for good right?" She enquired calmly.

"No… I don't know that! She was gone for two months! That's how they managed to defeat him at the parameter! She broke him that time and he was off his game. How the hell am I supposed to trust that she won't leave him when he wakes up?"

He was now towering over his elder sister, yet she remained unnerved.

"If he wakes up," she slightly disheartened herself.

As if her pessimism had made him realize his threatening stance, he backed away from her, visibly defeated.

She stood to face him.

"She came back and it's for him. Not for her title or her belongings, just for him. The kybi may be gone, but Gaara is still there. She came to be with him."

Her words made his heart wrench. Before his daughter was even a thought, Gaara was who he protected. Losing their mother at an age too young to understand, was Gaara's own fault. Kankuro knew his little brother didn't mean to do it. He knew the bloodlust in him was due to his insane ability to control sand mixed with rage of the one tailed squirrel. All that contributed to his inability to understand love, but Kankuro didn't care. He vowed the day of their uncle's death to protect Gaara with his life… Even if that life was to be lost to the hand of the very one he protected.

His mind had drifted so far, he hadn't noticed when Temari walked over to the opened door.

"You should try to be grateful to her, Kankuro." She proclaimed, snapping him back to reality. His expression became blank as he turned to face the ambassador he was privileged to call his sister.

"She brought Haruno Sakura here to treat you when she got word of the situation, be grateful for her helping to save your life… I know I am."

**(flash back)**

"I said to leave me alone…" He hissed at her in his signature monotone voice.

Her critical point had been reached with his annoyed expression.

"Sure, Gaara. I'll leave you alone…" She forced herself to say sweetly even though her body went rigid with anger. She toyed with the kunai on her leg strap.

"I'll leave you alone to rot your sorry ass way in hell!"

With quick reflexes, she grabbed hold of the weapon and flung it directly at his head. But as fast as she was, her speed couldn't match that of his sand barrier. It loomed upwards to protect its master just as the kunai was about the instrument was about to puncture his skull. She knew her attack wouldn't touch him. It was simply to get his attention. Which it did indeed.

An explosion of sand blinded her eyes for a brief moment, throwing her off guard… His version of the cheap shot. Before she could struggle to regain her sight, the sand cleared and hovered around them. A large figure stood before her. The figure became clearer as the dust subsided. Her arms were pinned behind her back by his hands. Finally, all went still.

He looked down into her large clear blue eyes that looked back into creased chocolate ones.

"Why? Why does everything have to be hard like moving mountains with you, Gaara?" She asked, blue orbs shifting their focus constantly between his emotionless eyes. Her natural jutsu became activated as she made hand signals as best she could. He only moved his eyes from left to right to observe how far her ability had reached, then back to focus on her once more.

"Because," he began, "every time I break a mountain down you build it back up."

His sand barrier began to swirl and attack the growing dirt mound around them.

"No Gaara, breaking it down to sand still doesn't stop it from existing," she explained in a stressed tone as her jutsu rejuvenated itself after every attack.

His grip on her arms loosened as he saw the tears of pain she often shed, pour onto her face.

"I'm not making another me, Ino." He said with the most amount of emotion his voice could express.

"I want a baby, Gaara. Monster or no monster, I want one." Her speech had become so soft he could hardly hear her, as her head hung between them.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you that," was his blunt reply.

"Well… maybe I can't do this then," she retorted looking up at him seriously, but her eyes pleaded for him to tell her not to go.

"Fine then…Go."

And with that he walked away from her and exited the room, without looking back. She stood surrounded by the conjoint mixture of sand and dirt they had conjured just seconds ago.

**(end of flash back)**

The sun began to set on the horizon of the Village of the Sand. The bright red-orange beams of lights flooded the room gloriously. Her silhouette was outlined as she stood in front the opened bay windows. His body was still motionless on the bed behind her. He had been there for weeks without any signal to his worried loved ones of life within him.

She looked back at him warily and smiled.

"…No babe, we're not done yet." She whispered to his unconscious body as she continued to hold the curtains open as the sun set.

**End Note: ok! So did anyone enjoy? Comments are always accepted, but let's remember that no one likes to be flamed… so if you didn't like it then no need to voice your disgust. All those with constructive criticism, reply away! Ja ne!**


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